Bristol Panel Rejects Revised Depot Square Plans

BRISTOL — After several years of disappointments and delays, a city panel on Monday ran out of patience with Renaissance Downtowns' plan for revitalizing the old Bristol Centre Mall site.

It voted unanimously to reject the latest version of Renaissance's proposal, which would have had the city put up nearly $4 million toward building a combination retail and apartment building on the property.

The Bristol Downtown Development Corp. listened to more than an hour's worth of public comments for and against the so-called Depot Square project, and met in executive session with Renaissance, project consultants and lawyers.

The vote is a setback for Renaissance, which has been under increasing pressure to produce something tangible by the end of June or lose its status as the lead developer for downtown.

A faction of residents and political leaders has been clamoring to dump Renaissance for the past year, but the company's advocates warn that there's no better option. Without Renaissance, they say, the city would be back to its starting point of five years ago — trying to market a sprawling vacant lot in the heart of downtown.

The details of construction and financing have changed several times over the years that Long Island-based Renaissance has held a contract to redevelop the city-owned property.

Early hopes were that a wave of private investors and developers would come forward to build apartments, stores, restaurants, offices and a hotel in a Blue Back Square-like setting with fountains, landscaped walkways and a piazza. Supporters still envision something similar in the long run, but have accepted that the capital market isn't interested.

Even after scaling back plans, spreading construction over many phases and adopting more conservative financing estimates, Renaissance had to break the news to the city last year that it would need substantial public investment to begin just the first stage of Depot Square.

This spring, long after it had hoped to start construction, Renaissance was still piecing together a way to pay for what's become an even less elaborate beginning: One four-story building with 100 apartments and several small ground-floor retailers.

The plan called for the city to lend $3.9 million to be repaid over more than two decades by rents from the retail businesses. It also includes $3.1 million from a private investor and hinged on landing almost $14 million in state loans. Renaissance has until June 10 to apply for one of those loans, and needed Bristol's sign-off on the overall deal to go forward.

"It's very obvious Renaissance doesn't have the financing behind them. If they have so much trouble putting the first building up, are we going to go through this with every parcel?" resident Janice Tompkins asked the development panel. "It's time to cut our losses and get somebody else to do the job."

Divinity Street resident David Haberfeld disagreed.

"The project may have lost a lot of its momentum but our businesses need it," he told the panel. "How many years until plan B comes along? People aren't going to wait for it."

Speakers at the meeting Monday night largely divided along age lines: Retirees spoke against Renaissance, saying taxpayers can't afford the cost of a $3.9 million loan and an estimated $3 million in infrastructure improvements the city plans.

Younger residents said Bristol has nothing to offer them, and desperately need a walkable, lively downtown to attract young professionals from ESPN and elsewhere.